1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fuel system, and more particularly, to a remote mounted fuel system used, for example, in marine applications.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
Fuel systems supplying fuel to engines, such as marine engines, face a variety of obstacles in ensuring that the engine runs smoothly with little or no degradation in performance. For instance, boat fuel tanks are often exposed to heat caused by exposure to the sun or from simply running the engine for a relatively long period of time. When fuel tanks are exposed to this excessive amount of heat, the liquid fuel (i.e., gasoline) in the tank, engine, fuel system components and fuel lines feeding the engine, can vaporize. When this happens the resulting vapor is fed into the fuel pump and blocks or impedes the flow of liquid fuel, thereby causing a condition known as “vapor lock”. Vapor lock can have the effect of causing the engine to stutter or stall or it may prevent it from being started or restarted due to the lack of fuel being supplied to the engine. When this occurs, the system often must be allowed to cool down in order to dissipate the vapor and remove the vapor lock condition.
Another instance that presents obstacles to the smooth running of engines, and marine engines in particular, is ingestion of air in the fuel system. When boats are in the water, waves may cause the boat to rock back and forth. Similarly, a boat may make maneuvers such as banking when turning at a high rate of speed or quickly accelerating or decelerating. In each instance the fuel in the fuel tank and other components of the fuel system sloshes around, thereby causing the system to ingest air. When this air enters the fuel system, it has the same or similar effect on the engine as vapor does in a vapor lock condition. Accordingly, the air can cause the engine to seize or otherwise degrade performance.
Conventional fuel systems attempt to solve the system degradation problem by employing vapor traps in the fuel system or by otherwise venting the system. Still other conventional fuel systems attempt to solve the problem by trying to prevent the fuel in the system from sloshing around. These systems are not without their disadvantages, however. For instance, vapor traps may fail, and thus, be unsuccessful in sufficiently ridding the system of vapor, thereby resulting in vapor lock or reduced performance. Similarly, fuel will slosh around to a certain degree and create air pockets regardless of the steps taken to prevent it. Additionally, the fuel tanks will still undoubtedly be exposed to heat, thereby causing fuel to vaporize regardless of the steps taken to prevent air pockets caused by sloshing fuel.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a fuel system that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.